I do love some delicious drama with theft and betrayal and colonialism and millions of dollars; this book was slightly disappointing in that Krakauer's reporting always sticks to the facts and doesn't often speculate about people's thoughts or feelings. Good reporting, not as dramatic a book as it could be!
But it is a valuable piece of insight into high-dollar charity culture; I'm sure the THREE CUPS OF TEA charity isn't the only one getting away with this kind of financial sleight of hand. And I do love to hear my bias against glib white folks who travel in Asia--and other developing countries--confirmed. There are ways to be a tourist that respects the labor people have to do to host you, and then there's charity work.
I listened to this book on audio, while recovering from surgery, and enjoyed the experience. It's quite short, and the writing is clear and easy to follow even when you're in that stage of recovery where you can barely stand to sit still anymore and your brain is working on a story while your hands on working on a crafting project and your ears are only half listening to your audiobook. Krakauer's delicate, detailed reporting has been great in everything of his that I've read.
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